1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting head mounting and support ring system for securing a cutting head to a food slicing machine.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Slicing machines for cutting food products, such as vegetables, nuts, and fruit, are well known in the art. A known apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,824 and comprises a main frame, a drive motor, a stationary annular cutting head fixedly attached to the main frame and having a series of circumferentially spaced cutter support segments each with a slicing blade mounted thereon, and a rotatable impeller surrounded by the cutting head and connected to a drive motor for rotation within the cutting head. The cutting head and the impeller are configured so that the impeller directs a food product outwardly against the slicing blades when the impeller is rotated within the cutting head.
In the known apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,824, a cutting head mounting ring located on the bottom of the cutting head is received on a fixed support ring of a slicing machine. The cutting head is gravitationally held on the support ring with axially extending pins serving to retain the support ring relative to the mounting ring. The cutting head is separated from the mounting ring for cleaning and maintenance simply by lifting the cutting head and mounting ring from the support ring.
In such known machines, it is necessary to often change the cutting head in order to replace or clean the cutting head and/or the slicing blades. Removal of the cutting head, or replacement or adjustment of the slicing blades is typically a time consuming procedure and thereby reduces production efficiency. Removal or adjustment of the cutting heads must therefore be accomplished with minimal down time of the slicing machine.
As discussed above in relation to the slicing apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,824, the known cutting head includes an upper annular ring mounted on an upper side of the cutter segments and is connected to the support ring through a mounting ring mounted on a lower side of the cutter segments by pins that extend axially or downwardly from the cutter support segments and engage locating holes formed adjacent to the periphery of the support ring. In this particular coupling arrangement, it has been observed that the pins of the cutting head may deform or the locating holes may elongate on the support ring over time, thereby rendering it difficult to properly position the cutting head on the support ring after repeated usage.
In another known slicing apparatus, a coupling arrangement is provided that includes a lower mounting ring upon which the cutting head may be attached. The lower mounting ring, in turn, is arranged to simply rest on and be frictionally supported by the support ring.
In the known coupling arrangements, it has been observed that the cutting head and its mounting ring can be lifted or tilted relative to the support ring under some conditions of slicing operations when heavy surges of food products enter the impeller and result in impeller imbalance. When the impeller imbalance occurs, the impeller may impact the slicing blades and damage components of the cutting head and the impeller itself. Damage to the cutting head and impeller may result in poor quality of the sliced food product, and further necessitate replacement of the cutting head and/or impeller.
Accordingly, an improved coupling arrangement between a mounting ring and a support ring of a food slicing machine is desirable to prevent tilting or lifting of the cutting head relative to the support ring during slicing operations. It is also desirable to provide an improved coupling arrangement that improves the durability of the mounting and support rings during use, and that reduces or eliminates the possibility of damage to the cutting head and impeller from repeated removal and replacement activities. It is also desirable to reduce the down time of slicing machines and to simplify the process of removing or mounting a cutting head from and to a slicing machine support ring.